Changes in the state’s tough new gun law haven’t been written into law yet, but Albany political sources told Kramer that they will happen, eating away at the law even before it goes into effect next month.

“There will be an extension of the surcharge set to expire next year,” Cuomo said Thursday.

And when asked at if that wasn’t hypocritical, given his prior no-new-taxes positions, Cuomo tried to paint the tax hike as a tax cut, since the budget also provides the middle class with a $350 child tax rebate.

Business proponents are crying foul. Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, said it’s a huge mistake that will hurt the economy and drive high earners out.

“New York City, which is the economic engine of the state of New York, is in fact where the burden of this tax falls,” Wylde said. “Anything that hurts the economy of the city…that hurts the ability of business to recruit high-earning, top people from around the globe and bring them to New York is a problem.”

Wylde said that with federal tax changes that went into effect in January, these high-income New Yorkers will now be paying 54 percent of their earnings to the government, which is why they may succumb to the lure of no-income tax states like Texas and Florida, and Puerto Rico.

N.Y. Gun Rights Advocates File Suit To Block Strict New Laws

The New York affiliate of the National Rifle Association, joined by sportsmen’s groups, firearms businesses and individual gun owners, filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court seeking an injunction to stop the state’s new gun control law.

The suit claims the law violates New York State residents’ Second Amendment rights.

The suit says the statute enacted Jan. 15 infringes on the right of law-abiding citizens to keep “commonly possessed” guns in the home for family defense and other legal purposes.

Following the filing of the lawsuit, the following statement was posted to the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association‘s website: “The Supreme Court affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms in the landmark 2008 case of Heller v. District of Columbia and incorporated that decision to the states in the 2010 case of McDonald v. Chicago,” said NYSRPA President Thomas King. “These decisions apply to all New Yorkers. Attempts to deny our citizens the best and most effective tools available for personal protection cannot be tolerated.”

King said earlier in the day that he is hopeful this will become a landmark case that makes it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The SAFE Act includes several gun control measures and was the first law passed on a state level in response to the Newtown shooting rampage that left 20 first graders and six educators dead.

It tightens the definition of illegal “assault weapons” to include some popular and formerly legal semi-automatic rifles and requires registration of older guns.

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, the lead plaintiff and NRA affiliate, said it was bringing the suit on behalf of its 45,000 members. President Tom King has estimated there are about 4.75 million gun owners among New York’s 19 million residents. Other plaintiffs include the Westchester County Firearms Owners Association, Beikrich Ammunition Corp., Blueline Tactical & Police Supply, gun manufacturer Bedell Custom and the Sportsmen’s Association for Firearms Education.

“Criminals have and use magazines without any limitation in capacity. The act’s provisions on magazines put law-abiding citizens at a grave disadvantage to criminals, who will not comply with the seven-round limit,” the suit said. Likewise, it said the ban on assault weapons, “a pejorative term,” is being broadened “to describe countless numbers of rifles, handguns and shotguns that were commonly possessed under prior law.”

The suit seeks a ruling that both provisions violate the constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms and the 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the laws as well as injunctions stopping enforcement. The suit does not challenge many other provisions, including stronger penalties for gun crimes.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, named along with Cuomo as a defendant, said Thursday the law is “making New York communities safer, while ensuring constitutional protections to responsible gun owners. My office will continue to aggressively defend the protections embodied in the law because every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe neighborhood free from the threat of gun violence,” he said.

What do you think of the lawsuit and the continuation of the high-income tax? Please offer your comments below…